Notre Dame cannot afford to emphasize growth this week. The No. 3 Irish (4-0, 3-0 ACC) made the passing game their focus to start last weekend, a decision that brought short-term adverse effects.
“It was a big emphasis,” fifth-year quarterback Ian Book said after finishing 11-of-19 for 106 yards in the sluggish 12-7 victory against Louisville. “We talked about it all week.
“It’s not that we didn’t want to go out there and run the ball, but we saw some opportunities in the passing game and we want to go out and there and do that early.